With the dearth of life looming, Italians have cut the purchases of fruit and vegetables which collapse in 2022 by 11% in quantity compared to last year, at the lowest since the beginning of the century with 2.6 billion kilos.
This is how it emerges from the analysis by Coldiretti Filiera Italia and Unaproa on household spending in the first half of the year at the summit of the National Union of Fruit, Vegetable and Citrus Fruit Producers (Unaproa) on rising costs and consumption crisis, according to Cso data Italy / Gfk Italy. In detail, Italians have reduced the quantities of courgettes by 16%, tomatoes by 12%, potatoes by 9%, carrots by 7% and salads by 4%, while for fruit – explain Coldiretti Filiera Italia and Unaproa – there is even an 8% decline for purchases of oranges. Only the fourth range is growing, such as salads in bags, whose sales in the first 6 months of 2022 rose by 7% over the same period of 2021.
However, the entire supply chain is in difficulty, which has found itself facing unilateral increases by suppliers of packaging such as glass which costs more than 30% more than last year but there is an increase of 35% for labels, 45% for cardboard, 60% for tinplate cans, up to 70% for plastic, according to the Coldiretti Filiera Italia and Unaproa analysis. In this scenario, the surge in fuel prices risks unleashing a storm on the costs of logistics with Italy which – underline Coldiretti Filiera Italia and Unaproa – must already face an additional cost of 13 billion euros for freight transport compared to competitors. of other countries.